Upon hearing that Yan Jing would next head to Purple Cloud Valley to pay his respects to Huang Yunzi, Li Ping took an interest.
He casually asked a few questions about the situation in Purple Cloud Valley.
Originally, the Defender Alliance had four Core Formation Late Stage cultivators, and four major factions had formed around them: the Yan and Liang kingdoms, which led the Northern Region; the Yun Kingdom and its allied kingdoms, which led the Central and Southern Regions; the Yue Kingdom and its allied kingdoms, which led the Western Region; and the Eastern Region kingdoms centered on the Qi Kingdom.
The Yan and Liang kingdoms constantly faced the threat of the Otherfolk on the Grasslands. Aside from seeking aid when they could no longer hold out, they paid little attention to the Defender Alliance's internal affairs.
Of course, to maintain good relations and secure support when the Tuluo People invaded, they also refrained from casually interfering in disputes between other kingdoms.
With the Yan and Liang kingdoms set aside, the Defender Alliance was effectively balanced between three powers.
The Central Southern Region and Western Region were led respectively by the Crimson Flame Sect and Purple Cloud Valley, two sects with Core Formation Late Stage cultivators holding the fort.
After Xiao Changkong fell and the Qingyun Secret Realm was destroyed,
the two weaker factions had quietly adopted a united front to withstand the Academy's pressure.
That consideration had played a part in Huang Yan and Ji Shuwen becoming Dao companions, for instance.
Before that, the Academy's support for Windmist True Person's establishment of an immortal city in the Cloudmist Mountains had also been intended to plant a thorn in the Western Regions' side and keep them in check.
Later, when Huang Yunzi killed Windmist True Person and his disciple